Upcoming Meetings & Events

July Club Meeting - 7/10NOTE THE OFF-SCHEDULE DATE! Due to the 4th of July Holiday, we will meet the 2nd Friday in July. We will be holding a Fish Fry so come and enjoy some fresh striper - please bring a side-dish or dessert to share.

In-Water Boat Show - 7/11 - Docks at Bridgewater PlazaWe'll hold our annual in-water boat show at the docks at Bridgewater Plaza on Saturday morning, July 12th, from 9:30 until 1pm or so. This is a good chance to check out how other members have rigged their boat for striper fishing, hang out and talk fishing and most importantly help to expose the Club to the public. August Club Meeting - 8/7We tentatively are planning from members of the Smith Mountain Lake Fire & Rescue Dive Team to come speak with us. We'll also get an update on summer-time fishing.

September Club Meeting - 9/4Topics TBD. If there is something you'd like to hear about, please let us know!

President's Corner

Well, one half of 2015 is in the books! Quite hard to believe. Though as time flies, we've accomplished a lot as a Club already this year. We've participated in Lake Cleanup, Freedom Alliance, Bedford Youth Day, 4H Fishing and the 2015 striper stocking. We've donated to, and provided a fishing trip for the Friends of the State Park Youth Fishing Derby. We've held 6 Club meetings covering topics from the upcoming 50th Anniversary of SML, to cast-net throwing to "Thinking Like a Striper" to making artificial lures and then fishing with them. We've conducted a Member Survey to get feedback on what you want from the Club and we've revised the Club By-Laws to update them in a few needed areas. We've had members start to "climb" the Fish Ladder, and several members receive their "striper pin" for documented citation striped bass catches. We are also growing as a Club. We've had around two dozen new members join the Club, as well as having several folks that were members in years past come and re-join us.

However, there is still a lot of 2015 to go. I'm excited about what all else we will accomplish together this year. We have other opportunities upcoming for the Club to get out into the Community - as an example, our annual "In-Water" Boat Show is upcoming on July 11th. This is a great opportunity to get the word out about the Striper Club - a chance to interact with the public and introduce them to striper fishing and our Club. It is also a chance to spend some time checking out other member's boats and picking up a few rigging ideas. But, you'll have to do this on a full stomach as our Fish Fry will be held the night before at our July Club meeting...

We are starting to fill out the meeting topic calendar for the remainder of the year and I am certain there will be something for everyone. And can you believe we are already starting to plan for the year's Christmas Party? How many days until Christmas????

When I started to prepare this newsletter, I thought it might be a short one. However, as I covered all the things we've been involved in over that past two months, it became quite complete. You'll see a lot of kids in this newsletter - the Club participates in a number of events centered around getting youth involved in the outdoors and fishing - and I think this is an important thing to help ensure there is a future for our sport. Always give that a thought when asked to help out in these events.

I appreciate each of you in your support of the Club and participation in our events and as always, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or any of the Board members with any thoughts or concerns you might have. I'm looking forward to the rest of this year!

Fish On! - Mike Ward

Water Temperature - 6/10/15

Temperatures have increased into the 80's since this report in early June - with a few weeks of above normal temperatures we saw surface temps in the low to mid 80's - a bit warm for June - but the lower depths are still reasonably cool. However, with continued sunny days and hot temperatures the depths will warm, pushing the fish deeper. As always as we enter the summer season, it is important to keep the temperatures in mind when making decisions to harvest or release fish as well as larger stripers will not release with good success in warm water temperatures.

May & June Meeting Overviews

Steve Nagel talks about pulling U-Rigs

In May we stretched our legs a bit and featured some outdoor demos - Cast Netting & Fish Filleting. Members had a chance to learn a new trick or two on how to easily filet a striper in a demo conducted by Steve Nagel, and perhaps learn a new technique for throwing a cast-net from Mike Ward. We then settled back inside to talk a bit of fishing, followed by Pat Massa from the SML Water Safety Council who shared with us a number of tips on water and boating safety.

In June, we talked about the recent largemouth and striper stockings and then Steve Nagel and Joel Janecek shared some tips and techniques for summer-time trolling for striped bass. They shared the various lures and techniques (umbrella rigs, pulling lures on lead-core, trolling deep-diving plugs, etc that they have used with success.

New Items in the Ship's Store

We will have our SMSC shirt design available in at the May meeting so bring your checkbook or cash! T-shirts, Hoodies, Zipper Hoodies & Hats will all be available. Pick up some new SMSC gear for yourself, your family and fishing partners! It is a great way to spread word of the Club around the community as well.

F1 Tiger Bass Stocking

Many of you are likely aware of the recent stocking of the "F1 Tiger" strain of Largemouth Bass in Smith Mountain Lake in late May / early June. This stocking of 20,000 fingerling, with approval for additional stocking in 2016, was the result of private donations from a number of anglers and businesses in the SML area and approved by DGIF, largely due to the opportunity for a conduit of communication to be opened between the bass fishery and DGIF - one that had been lacking.

Given the recent discussion in our earlier Club meeting by Dan Wilson regarding the potential concern that we do not have sufficient bait (or bait of quantity of a specific size), we reached out to Dan upon hearing of the initiative to raise funds for this stocking out of concern given the marketing of the "F1 Tiger Bass" as being a "fast growing, aggressive" variant - and what potential conflict the addition of this bio-type to SML might have to all the fisheries at SML.

The response provided indicate that the specific strains from which the "F1 Tiger" are crossed are already present in SML (Florida & Northern strains). As such, this stocking is not expected to result in any material impact on the bait supply within SML, nor did he believe it would materially change the large-mouth fishery as these fish reproduce over time. However, this certainly is an area in which we want to keep an on-going, open dialog with DGIF as well as the bass fishing community to ensure that neither fishery is negatively impacted.

Certainly we desire all the fisheries at SML to thrive to their strongest, and the fact that a group of large-mouth anglers are passionate enough about their fishery to "put their money where their mouth is", is a good thing. This has already resulted in increased dialog within the bass fishing community on SML regarding how they handle their tournaments, with increased dialog on the conservation of their targeted species. Too often there is negative dialog expressed by some bass anglers about how the "stripers are eating the bass", or similar comments indicating the striped bass fishery is negatively impacting their favored species. There is little evidence to this fact, and many other areas in which all anglers can focus to help protect and sustain their favored fisheries that work in support of others. The reduction of grasses in SML from chemical spraying and more recently the introduction of grass carp, while pleasing to some home-owners, is becoming a serious concern for anglers given the significant reduction in cover for newly hatched fish to hide and grow.

It is important that these dialogues continue - in a respectful manner - to ensure that SML remains a top-notch fishery for all to enjoy. Topics such as these must remain top of mind for our Club, and represent an important place in our discussions and actions.

2015 Freedom Alliance Event

Once again we had the opportunity to host a group of Iraq & Afghanistan veterans for a few days of fishing on SML. The weather cooperated with us beautifully and the fish were generally cooperative as well. It is always an honor to have the chance to give back in this small way to those that served us. Thanks to the following SML Members who assisted with this year's event as Captain's, Mate's, back-up Captains or Event Photographer: Charlie Boise, Tyler Early, Kathy Franceschini, Rudy Fry, Don Hutchison, Joel Janecek, Gerry Lewis, Macky May, Steve Nagel, Bill Nash, Bob Rowe, Butch Schaffer, Pete Smith, Mike Ward, and Ray Witte.

You can see more pictures from the event on the Club Website in the Gallery, as well as a video from the event.

What the Heck is That ????

Capt. Kathy Franceschini sent along the﻿se photos saying she had been seeing a lot of these black "BB" looking objects in the flesh of stripers that she had been cleaning this Spring. We contacted Dan Wilson, DGIF Biologist, to ask about these and if there should be any concern in terms of eating fish in which these are found.

Below is Dan's response:"We have been seeing the "bee bee dots" for about 10-12 years. I don't know what exactly they are and need to send a sample off some time to one of the labs an ID. It is likely some type of parasite but like the other types of fish parasites, not a problem for people to eat them unless you like your fish raw. Even eaten raw, there are only a handful of fish parasites around the world that have any concerns for human consumption and since none of those that I am aware of match that description they are not likely any threat even if eaten raw. The parasite is a best guess since I have never got a positive confirmation. People have been eating those fish with this for a long time now."

Member Catches

It looks like we need to get Bob Rowe to conduct a photography class for others to help make sure those eyes are open, a smile vs a smirk, and heads are not cut off :) However, we always appreciate any of the pictures we get to use in the newsletter! As always, we love to feature member catches - please submit yours - you can post them to the Club Facebook page, or send them to smsc@SmithMountainStriperClub.com.

Ray Witte with an early June striper

Bob, friend of Ray Witte with a nice catch!

Joel snagged one of those "other" fish - a nice one at 5.13 lbs

Macky May's family enjoys the benefits of fishing with Macky

Steve N with a nice catch while fishing with Macky

2015 Striper Stocking Results

During the first week of June, the "Class of 2015" was stocked in SML at 10 sites across the Blackwater & Roanoke rivers. This year for the first time the stocked striper from saltwater brood stock. There has been on-going discussion for some years if the genetics of the brood-stock from Buggs Island / Roanoke River could be resulting in slower growth rates, so DGIF was able to secure stocking from King & Queens this year, using brood stock from the Bay.

In total, 348 thousand striped bass fingerlings were stocked, with approximately 35,500 stocked in each of the following locations on the Blackwater: Penhook, Camp Kilowatt, Scruggs, & Rt 665; and approximate 34,300 stocked in each of the following locations on the Roanoke arm: Our Place Marina (Craddock Creek), State Park, Oak Grove, Indian Point, Pleasure Point and Moormans.

Thanks to Ken Ulrich who headed up the Club's operations & coordination with DGIF, and also Rick Boettcher, Bob Rowe, Joe Wolf, and Warren Beuschel for going out with the stocking trucks to assist with directions to the sites as well as monitoring the stocking activities.

Trolling with Umbrella Rigs

The contents of this article were initially posted on the SMSC Discussion Forums by member Mike Rettemnier. You can read the original, along with the follow-up discussion on the Forum - http://smsc-forums.proboards.com/thread/229/trolling-rigs-02-cents-anyway Thanks Mike for your contribution!

I thought I would post my method for using U-rigs. I know some folks aren't crazy about using them but they do produce fish and can be a lot of fun. Or a real pain in the......neck. Depends on your idea of fishing I guess. I find that I can cover alot of water while trolling u-rigs and can zero in on the fish much more easily by covering so much water.

Equipment:I typically use a 4 arm, 3oz rig with 9 swim baits, rigged with 3/4 oz lead heads with 9" leaders on the inner and outer perimeter with a 18" "trailer" on the middle of the rig. I find that the shorter leaders have less tendency to tangle. I use a variety of swimbaits from 5" to 9" in length and also bucktails rigged with a plastic trailer. I use 7' medium heavy Ugly Sticks with a line counter reel spooled with 50lb braid. As far as baits my normal set up is one color for all of the perimeter and a off color on the trailer. Not sure if it makes a difference or not but it does to me.

Tactics:As far as speed goes I will change my speed from 3.5mph all the way down to 1.9 mph. After trying different speeds throughout a day of fishing I will usually figure out what speed the fish like. Speeding up and down also changes the presentation of the rig and I often get "bit" when I am doing this. Also, I will troll in a zig-zag pattern to lift one side and drop the other side. always plan your turns as well. When I am trolling multiple rigs I will start with rigs with different colors until I figure out what the fish want on that particular day. I find that green with a white trailer are a favorite on most days. Another important thing to remember is to set your drag very loose. Once I am at the depth that I want to fish I loosen the drag and set the clicker to on. It's nice to hear the clicker scream when you hook up. A long time ago when I fished offshore in Florida we would never allow someone to watch the rods. Only listen for them. I keep my drag just tight enough to not let line out. I have noticed that I miss too many fish with a tight drag. If I miss a fish or bump the bottom too hard I will pull everything in to make sure my rigs are not tangled. Nothing worse than trolling for a mile and realizing you were tangled the whole time.

Depth:I feel that this is very important. With the set-ups I use, I can generally get down 2.5 feet per ten feet of line depending on the speed. A line counter reel is a must have as far as I am concerned. When I am marking fish in 30' of water I will run my rigs to a depth of 25'. Which is about 100' on my line counter. When I am ready to start my trolling I lower my rigs in the water while the boat is at a stand still and put the boat in gear when they are all swimming and tangle free. When fishing SML we have to remember that there is a forest just under the boat too. When I come to a tree marked at 20 feet below the surface and my rigs are 25' deep I will speed up to raise the rigs as to clear the tree. Sometimes this doesn't work and I snag a tree. When this occurs I put the boat in neutral and reel any other lines in immediately and let the drag on the snagged set up just peel off. Once the other rods are secured I back over top of the rig while trying not to circle it. Most times you can release the snag without having to use a retriever. If it doesn't come loose I break out the retriever. A retriever is a must have when using u-rigs

Fish on:It can be very exciting when Stripers hit a u-rig. Especially when you have more than one u-rig in the water at the same time. Generally, when I have another person aboard I will put the boat in neutral when a fish hits and clear the other lines to allow for a easy catch. When fishing alone I will intermittently put the boat in and out of gear so my other rig doesn't find a snag(they sink FAST). It is not uncommon to get 2 fish on the same rig at the same time too. When I get a fish to the boat I use the whole rig, not the leaders, to get the fish in the boat. I found that a net is way too much trouble. Another thing to remember, when reeling in a u-rig, is to reel slowly and many times it will get bit too when you are in the fish.

To summarize, there is no real science to the whole idea of u-rig fishing. What works today, may not work tomorrow. It does add another weapon to the arsenal though. For a lazy fisherman, like me, it gets me fishing quickly and allows me the ability to cover tons of water in a day. Covering so much water seems to keep me atune to where the fish are most of the time and allows me to catch a fish once in a while.

Friends of the State Park Fishing Derby

The Club recently made a donation of $50 to the "Friends of the State Park" for use as a part of their Youth Fishing Derby which occurred in June. Joel Janecek also donated a striper fishing trip, which was won by Diana Harris.

Joel put Diana on her first ever striper - this one a 23" plump fish when on the trip she won.

Thanks to Joel for donating of his time and resources to introduce another of our youth to the joys of striper fishing! And contracts to Diana on her catch - we hope that it is the first of many more to come!

2015 Lake Clean-Up Day

The SMSC once again staffed the Indian Point location for "Take Pride in Smith Mountain Lake" - aka "Lake Clean-up Day". Members ran a boat for collection in near-by creeks and coves while other members awaited the public bringing debris in from out and about the lake. There was time for some socializing while awaiting the next load to arrive and we could not have asked for better weather - a bit brisk to start the day with temperatures warming as the day went on.Thanks to members Bruce Brenholdt, Gary Disbrow, Rudy Fry, Don Hutchinson, Joe Janecek,Steve Nagel, Bob Rowe, Ken Ulrich, and Mike Ward. Thanks also to Tom and Fran Faull, Steve Lewis, Jeff Henson, Patti and John Hickman and Brad and Karolyn Webb for assisting, with a special thanks from everyone's backs and legs to Cameron Henson for running the skid-loader.

Welcome New Members

We'd like to take a moment to welcome our newest Members in the Smith Mountain Striper Club! Thus far in 2015 we've had 19 new members join the Club, and we want to say "Thank You & Welcome" to each of you. We look forward to your involvement in the Club.

Tommy Thompson - Peck Mill, WV

Donald Weidt - Thaxton, VA

Bill Trimmer - Fairfax, VA

Jeff May - Verona, VA

Shaun Hansberger - Basye, VA

We always welcome new members to the Club and ask all our existing members to make a point of inviting a guest to a meeting or event so that they too can see what the Club is about and learn & share with us.

New Club Sponsor - Rock Creek Planer Boards

The Rock Creek Striper & Walleye planer boards are one of the best planers on the market today. The boards feature Offshore OR-14 Adjustable Flex Clip, making it simple to adjust to different line diameters for a better grip to hold on ultra braids, monofilament, lead core or copper lines, yet easily releases with one hand for the fastest release on the water. Rear Offshore OR-12 pigtail swivels make it easy to attach your board to your line and makes it virtually impossible to lose your board unless the line breaks.

Key Features:Pulls Wide and almost parallel to the boatPulls big gizzard shad other boards have trouble withPigtail swivel makes it easy to get on and off your line even in cold weatherThe board size is 10" L x 4" W.

Please feel free to e-mail or call with any and all questions pertaining to the product, and we will do our very best to answer your questions as quickly as possible, within normal business hours. Rock Creek Planer Boards offers Smith Mountain Striper Club members a 10% discount off your purchase - call or e-mail for details!

Bedford Youth Day

June 6th saw our annual participation in the Bedford Youth Day at the Smith Mountain State Park. Club members assisted again this year in preparing and serving lunch for the large group of youth and their parents which attended this year's event. Thanks to Marshall & Judy Harris for heading up the event again this year, along with Joe Espisito, Macky May, Bob Rowe, Mike Ward and Gary and Joyce Disbrow assisting with the preparation, cooking and serving.

2015 Fish Ladder

The fish ladder is back for 2015. This will be a fun, year-long competition that has no cost to enter. Just submit a picture of a striper caught during 2015 in Smith Mountain or Leesville Lake against a measuring device which clearly shows the length of the fish to secure a rung on the ladder. You can submit multiple fish throughout the year - but you can hold only one "rung" - so as you improve on your year's personal best you can improve your chances. Pictures can be submitted via e-mail to the Club's e-mail address (smsc@smithmountainstriperclub.com), post to the the Club's Facebook page, or bring a copy to a meeting.

4H Youth Fishing

4H FIshing is in full swing, with members assisting kids in learning how to catch fish at the 4H Camp. This is a great way to introduce youth to the outdoors and fishing - and to help ensure the sport we love has a future when we are gone. We still have almost a month of 4H Fishing to go, and we need your help to fill the remaining slots. We'll plea for additional volunteers at our meeting on the 10th, but currently July 9th is still open, so if you can assist, please give Macky May a call.

"Fun in the Sun" Member/Guest Outing Results

On Saturday, June 13th we held our "Fun in the Sun" Outing. The weather held up it's end of the bargin, but the fish were not particularly co-operative. Anglers experienced a tough bite with only 7 fish weighed, and while the tournament was setup as a two-fish weigh-in, no angler weighed in more than one fish.

14 Club members, 4 guests and 3 youth entered. Plaques were given to the top 3 and trophies to the youth participants. Some nice door prizes were awarded and the group enjoyed a hot-dog lunch cooked by member Ray Witte.

Thanks to Bob Rowe for taking event photos and a big thanks to Steve Nagel for coordinating the overall event.

Fishing Outlook for July & August

As we enter July and August and the water temperatures increase, expect the fish to move to deeper, cooler waters, and (generally) school up. Targeting fish using livebait with "downlines" (basically a Carolina-rig with 1-2 oz egg weights above a swivel and 3-4' of flurocarbon leader below to the hook) is the typical go-to tactic. Circle hooks perform well with downlines - you just have to train everyone on the boat to not "set the hook", but wait till the rod bends over to the water, give the reel a few turns of the crank while still in the rod holder, then pick it up and fight the fish. Most anglers will use alewifes, which can easily be caught at night under dock lights until late Summer - though jumbo minnows will produce as well. Look for schools of fish in mid-lake major creeks, towards the mouths of the creeks in mid to late mornings - though you might be surprised by some fish on the upper ends of both river arms if the dissolved oxygen (DO) is sufficient on the upper ends of the lake.

If fishing artificial lures, 1/2 - 3/4 oz jigging spoons (Hopkins) and flukes on 3/8 to 3/4 jig heads can be very productive. That "lumpy" bottom on your sonar may actually be fish holding close to the bottom, drop that lure all the way down and let it sit, bump it a bit or just "dead-stick" your lures one crank off the bottom - setting the rod in the rod holder and let the gentle movement of the boat give the fluke all the action it needs to entice a strike.

The fish will be more active than in in the dead of winter, so be prepared to have to stay on the hunt. Those that do the best in the summer will often spend more time searching with sonar than actually having baits or lures in the water (unless trolling of course). It is in the summer-time that the "fleet" can actually be your friend - working with a network of boats in close proximity can help you collectively stay on the fish once they have been located. Alternatively, anchor up near an ambush point and cast out bait on the bottom and enjoy the Summer morning - hopefully before the jet-skis, wakeboarders, and other pleasure boaters get out on the water.

Keep in mind that with the warmer summer temperatures, with surface temps in the 80's and temps into the mid 70's even 20' deep, that stripers have a much lower potential of surviving a release. While small fish (sub 6 lbs) may have a stronger change, larger fish are not likely to survive after a fight in warm water. Consider catching your limit and calling it a day - heading back to the dock for breakfast or a nap before the rest of the family awakes.

Tackle Tip for July - Bait Tank Water for Summertime

Keeping healthy, frisky bait in the hot summer months can sometimes be a challenge. Alewifes, which tend to be the favored forage in summer months, do not like warmer water temperatures. The warmer the water, the less oxygen the water will hold.

It is important to keep your bait tank sufficiently cool in the summer months - however, you must also ensure not to shock the bait when first putting them in the tank with too large of a temperature delta. Ideally you want your tank to be no more than 10 degrees from the water the bait has come out of. But the surface temperature is 86 degrees you say - yes, but that water at 25'-30' where the bait is holding is much cooler - typically in the 65 degree range, give or take a bit depending on the time of the year. This is also the depth at which you will be fishing your baits in the summer. As such, try and get your tank to this temperature.

How do you accomplish that when the surface water is 85 degrees? Well, adding ice (from a dechlorinated water source) is one option. Freezing 2 liter or smaller bottles of water and dropping in your tank can be a solution. Some will freeze containers of lake water and then drop the block of ice into the tank. If you have access to well water, this can also be a good source of cool water - however you should run your aerator for a while in the tank before adding bait as well water can often be oxygen starved - mixing well water with some lake water is also a good idea to help balance any pH differences that might exist. Another alternative is to use a pump and long hose to bring up water from 25'-35' deep - though again you may need to run your tank a while to make sure it is well oxygenated in the event you are pulling from a layer of water with low dissolved oxygen.

Of course, do not forget the salt - about a cup of NON-iondized salt per 10 gallons, and keep an eye on the water temperature across the day - adding ice or doing water changes as needed to control the temperature.

I had around 6 or 8 large gizzards and a fair number of ales left in the tank after Saturday AM, and they rode around the lake with us all day Saturday afternoon. Was debating if I was going to fish on Sunday morning. Finally decided that I would go hit 3 near-by lights, and if I could get enough large gizzards to have 16-20 to fish then I'd set the alarm for a not-quite-so-early start and see what happened. The 1st light that I threw on about 10pm only yielded a few bluegill. Went to my next light - and it was off for the night..... was starting to thing I would be getting some sleep on Sunday morning. Third and final light..... I got a couple of shad.... so I threw a few more times and managed to add 12 or so shad to the tank......culled out the small ales to thin the herd - leaving only the big ales (or bluebacks) and the gizzards. Back to the house, asleep by 11:30 with the alarm set for 5:45.

Woke up at 5:40..... OK - let's do this..... At least it was a nice sunrise... Lines in about 6:45.... slow start.... was wondering if I should have just slept in. Did not even get a nervous bait for quite a while. Finally I had a planer with an alewife bury itself and hook-up. An 8 lber around 27" . After rebaiting and getting the board back in the zone it was not long before it was hit again.... a bit bigger fish - this one at 10 lbs / 31"

Finally had a gizzard board get slammed and the fish ran a bit...... was playing around trying to get a good bent-rod picture when the fish ran at me a bit and the line got just a little too loose..... gone... oh well... what we do for good photo ops

I circled that spot a couple of times before back tracking. Back near where I started my morning I had a lightline at the boat bury the rod to the water and then start peeling drag towards the bank and some timber... Fortunately I was able to get the fish turned.... glad I did.... a 17 lb / 35.5" Perhaps I should not have been fussing about May so much after all.

Considered calling it a day at that point, but I circled another time and picked up another fish on a gizzard planer board. For a short second I thought I had something special..... but then realized I more likely had foul-hooked the fish.... Yep... right in the belly..... hopefully this one will make it..... didn't check the weight/length, but it was >30" so had to go back anyway....

Pulled on a ways, starting to think about wrapping it up around 11:30am..... Happened to look over to see one of the three boards gone and a rod bent over. Grabbed the rod and started reeling furiously as the fish swam at me. Got the line tight and it turned and peeled drag - then the line went slack.... leader was cut/broke about 6" above the hook..... Decided that was enough for the day... and the month....

Five fish to the boat from from 27" - 35.5" / 8 - 17 lbs; one lost to fooling around, had two hit, not hook-up and steal my bait - and the last one with the broken leader.... Was about 50/50 with fish on the ales vs. gizzards - with the ale getting the big fish of the day. Did not see another striper boat all day, and only one other boat doing some crappie fishing then some guys on kayaks - and only one jetski.

Maybe May is OK - and I just need to do it my way.....

Smith Mountain Striper Club By-Laws Changes

At the Board of Directors meeting in June, the SMSC Board unanimously approved a collection of changes to the existing Club By-Laws. These changes were recommended after a recent review, to align our Club's operating guidelines to reflect the current state of the Club and ensure we are enabled to grow and operate as needed in the future. Rest assured that the core principles of the Club remain constant. You can find a copy of the now current By-Laws on the Club Website in the Member's Only section - http://www.smithmountainstriperclub.com/smsc-board-info.html.

Tackle Tip for August - Umbrella Rig Retreiver

If you are pulling Umbrella rigs on Smith Mountain, it is a question of when, not if, that you will hang one in the trees. At $25-$35 or more per fully outfitted umbrella rig, it can be expensive to break the line and move on.

Anyone that wants to pull umbrella rigs should first make or purchase an umbrella rig retriever. This is a simple device, which can be purchased for around $20, is basically a heavy weight with attachment points for a rope/line, a ring or other to which you are able to connect the rig to the line of your hung u-rig, and then a large treble hook (or hooks) used to snag the u-rig.

When you hang up a u-rig, first, before stopping, reel in any other rigs you may have deployed. Then position your boat as directly above the rig as possible, so that your line is straight down under the boat. Connect the u-rig retriever and drop it down until the weight comes in contact with the u-rig. Using an up and down jigging motion with the line attached to the retriever, work to snag the u-rig frame. Once you have snagged the frame, pull on the line/rope attached to the retriever. You very well may need to cleat off this line to your boat and then pull away with the big motor - so use a stout line / rope.

It may take more than one attempt to snag and then retract the retriever, and it is likely that you will break off one or more baits on the u-rig in the process, but it is certainly a better option than loosing the whole rig.

Please Support our Club Sponsors & Advertisers

Our Club Sponsors and Advertisers provide a valuable support to the Smith Mountain Striper Club and our membership. When in need of goods or services, please give our sponsors consideration and also let them know that you appreciate their support of the Club.